Mujeres Idolenses Group

The six women of the group Mujeres Idolenses live in San José El Idolo, Suchitepéquez, Guatemala. Legend has it that this town was formerly called El Idolo. When the Spanish conquerors came, they rested here for a while. When they moved on, in gratitude to the people of the town, they left a sculpture of San José. The people then changed the name of the town to San José El Idolo (Saint Joseph The Idol).

The women of this group have businesses that include selling food, wood, clothing or household goods. There is also a dressmaker and a small store. These are poor women with a great desire to better their lives and the lives of their families. They now have the opportunity to do this by upgrading their businesses and increasing their profits with the help of Namaste’s business advisors and money management classes.

Angela (3rd from left) is 64 and does not know how to read or write. She has a life partner but she is the only one contributing to the house and business. She has had her store for about ten years. Unfortunately, four years ago a car ran over her leg and she almost lost her foot. She was not able to work for two years, during which time her partner took care of the store for her. However, without her guidance the store did not do as well and her profits went way down. With her loan, she wants to buy what she needs to stock her store with things her customers want. She can then bring her sales to the level where she had them before the accident. She currently has a monthly profit of around US $117, working 140 hours a month. She believes that if she can provide the items her customers need, she will increase her profits to about US $247.

Additional Information

More information about this loan

In addition to a micro-loan, through its Business Development Program, Fundacion Namaste Guatemaya, provides its borrowers with the business support that will help their enterprises grow.

Namaste provides financial literacy, business education, cash flow analysis, and opportunities for entrepreneurs to to share experiences and best practices. The capstone of their model are Business Advisors that provide each borrower with one-on-one mentoring.

Namaste measures it success through the increase in profits of its borrowers. Of the more than 900 Namaste borrowers who have completed the business development program, on average their profits increased by 41%. Namaste clients are averaging USD2.50 per hour vs the Guatemala minimum wage of UDS1.00.

About Fundacion Namaste Guatemaya

Fundacion Namaste Guatemaya (Fundacion Namaste) is a non-profit organization in Guatemala that focuses on empowering women with microloans and mentoring. Its flagship program is the Namaste Business Development Program (NBDP), which combines personalized mentorship, financial literacy and customized microloans to help women entrepreneurs formalize their business models and increase their profits.

To date, approximately 1,000 women have completed the NBDP program, and over 500 women are actively enrolled. Kiva lenders’ funds enable Fundacion Namaste to reach even more women in Guatemala, particularly in rural and idigenous communities.

Fundacion Namaste joined Kiva through our Experimental Partnership Program, and has therefore received a lighter level of due diligence. Accordingly, loans associated with this partner carry a higher level of risk than typical Kiva loans.

This is a Group Loan

In a group loan, each member of the group receives an individual loan but is part of a larger group of individuals. The group is there to provide support to the members and to provide a system of peer pressure, but groups may or may not be formally bound by a group guarantee. In cases where there is a group guarantee, members of the group are responsible for paying back the loans of their fellow group members in the case of delinquency or default.

Kiva's Field Partners typically feature one borrower from a group. The loan description, sector, and other attributes for a group loan profile are determined by the featured borrower's loan. The other members of the group are not required to use their loans for the same purpose.